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St. Louis Rams – Sam Bradford Doesn’t Have a Career Left
It’s safe to say that Sam Bradford is going to be a “What If” story when it’s all said and done. Tearing his ACL for the second time in less than a year probably means another lost season for the St. Louis Rams and maybe the end of a career for a talented quarterback who never really got it going without some injury interrupting him.
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Vikings Over Chiefs – A Good Reason to Panic
Right now, it’s hard to say the Minnesota Vikings look formidable going heading into the new season, but in their 30-12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs both Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater made strong cases to be the starting quarterback, while on the other side of the equation, Alex Smith had himself yet another awful performance.
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Texans Over Broncos – Dirty Hit Steals the Spotlight
While there was a preseason game which the Houston Texans won 18-17, handing the Denver Broncos their first loss of the summer, most of the attention went to the dirty hit delivered by D.J. Swearinger on Wes Welker, causing a concussion, which led to Peyton Manning running up to the safety and giving him a nasty piece of his mind.
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Saints Over Colts – Not Everyone Gets Rusty
The New Orleans Saints have the privilege of a quarterback like Drew Brees, who doesn’t need long windup in order to feel confident and sharp as he heads into the new season, leading his team to a 23-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts, getting a far from similar performance out of Andrew Luck.
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Dolphins Over Cowboys – No One Really Encouraged
It’s hard to put the definition of a “friendly” game on any kind of NFL contest, and yet the feeling from the Miami Dolphins beating the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 was that of two teams who weren’t planning on giving their best shot when their starting quarterbacks, Tony Romo and Ryan Tannehill, were on the field.
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Ravens Over Redskins – Different Modes of Readiness
The preseason is almost over and it’s quite clear that the Baltimore Ravens, coming away with the 23-17, have a very different sense of confidence going into the “real” season, especially when it comes to their quarterback, compared to the Washington Redskins, who aren’t too pleased with what they’re seeing from Robert Griffin III.
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Packers Over Raiders – The Difference in Quarterback Quality
The Oakland Raiders seem to be in internal limbo when it comes to their quarterback position. The Green Bay Packers, winning their preseason encounter 31-21, are in the opposite situation with Aaron Rodgers, who wasn’t at his most accurate but didn’t cause any doubts as to why his team has one less position to worry about when he’s on the field.
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Seahawks Over Bears – What Champions Should Look Like
Not everything about this preseason has been perfect, but the Seattle Seahawks looked more than ready in a 34-6 win over the Chicago Bears as Russell Wilson, the offense and the defense looked excellent while the starters were playing, as opposed to Jay Cutler and the rest of his teammates who didn’t look quite prepared for this kind of competition, which might be saying something about their upcoming season.
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Patriots Over Panthers – The Right & Wrong Path
Preseason is usually a time for looking at what’s wrong and fixing it, but the New England Patriots looked close to flawless through most of their 30-7 win over the Carolina Panthers, with Tom Brady throwing two touchdown passes in an excellent first half performance from him, something that can’t be said about Cam Newton who also gave his coaching staff quite the injury scare.
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Giants Over Jets – Things Getting Clearer
Nothing new came out of the New York Giants beating the New York Jets 35-24. Geno Smith was announced as the team’s starting quarterback, something everyone already knew, while Eli Manning continues to struggle in his new offense, with his team once again rallying back to preseason victory during garbage time with backups on the field.